Women are sharing their personal experiences of sexual assault with millions online after lewd comments made by Donald Trump were revealed.
It all started when author Kelly Oxford bravely shared her own account of five different sexual assaults and asked others to talk about their own to show it’s “not OK”.
She later admitted that when she first posted, she thought she would delete it if nobody replied.
Hours later, she was receiving two stories of sexual assault per second.
I posted my assault, asked women to share theirs, thinking “if no one discusses I’ll pull it down.” 9.7million later pic.twitter.com/h1y7iIiU7M
Her name began trending on Twitter in cities across the USA as women rushed to share their stories under the hashtag #NotOK.
These are just a few of the many, many accounts which have been shared.
Women: tweet me your first assaults. they aren’t just stats. I’ll go first:
Old man on city bus grabs my “pussy” and smiles at me, I’m 12.
The women were inspired to share their experiences in an attempt to change attitudes after vile comments made by US presidential candidate Donald Trump emerged.
He was caught on a microphone making lewd comments about women back in 2005.
In the clip, he is heard saying:“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”
women have tweeted me sexual assault stories for 14 hours straight. Minimum 50 per minute. harrowing. do not ignore. #notokay
“And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.
“Grab them by the p****. You can do anything.”
A statement from Mr Trump said: “This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago.
“Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course – not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended.”
Billy Bush said in a statement: “Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed.
“It’s not excuse, but this happened eleven years ago – I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along.
Trump has been repeatedly criticised over his comments towards women throughout his presidential campaign.
If you have been affected by the issues in this story and need to talk to somebody, call Rape Crisis England and Wales for free on 0808 802 9999to find details of helplines and services near you.
The Samaritans also have a 24-hour helpline: 116 123.
